COLLEGE & CAREER PLANNING GUIDE
Applying to College 101: Key Online Sites & Terms By Tanni Haas, Ph.D.
The college application process starts in earnest in the fall. Whether your kid is a rising high school senior who’s just about to apply to college, or the process is several years away, it’s useful to know the key online websites that they’ll use and the most important terms. The process is entirely electronic and may be unfamiliar to many parents. Major Application Sites There are three major websites for submitting college applications, in addition to the websites of individual colleges. The Common App (www.commonapp.org) is used by more than 800 colleges across the U.S. as well as selected colleges in Asia, Canada, and Europe. Applicants respond to questions that are “common” to all of the colleges, as well as questions chosen by each individual college to which the applicant is applying. The Coalition App (www. coalitionforcollegeaccess.org) and the Universal College App (www. universalcollegeapp.com) are smaller, competing apps that are used by about 150 and 40 colleges, respectively. You can also apply for college via the web sites of individual colleges. Your high schooler should use that option if the colleges they’re interested in aren’t included on any of the larger sites. Admissions Options Parents should be more familiar with the four 22 | birminghamparent | may / june 2021
general admissions options: early decision, early action, regular decision, and rolling admission. Early decision is the best option if your high schoolers have a favorite college that they want to attend over all other colleges. The important factor is that the decision is binding, meaning that applicants must accept an offer of admission. Therefore, you can only make this choice for a single college. Early action also signals real commitment to colleges; the main difference is that offers of admission are non-binding (as are those of regular decision and rolling admission). You can make this choice for more than one college. Both early decision and early actions have deadlines in the fall. Regular admission is the option most applicants choose as the deadline is typically in the spring. This admission option gives them more time to get their applications in shape. Rolling admission means that applications are evaluated as they’re received, and evaluations continue until all the spots for the incoming class are filled. This option has no set deadline. Connecting the Application with their High School Record Once their applications are finished, your kids must “link” them to one of several online sites that high schools use to submit their high school records; only then is the process considered complete. The high school record includes the official description of
the high school (aka the “secondary school report”), letters of recommendation from the student’s guidance counselor and/or one or more teachers, and the student’s high school transcript. Most high schools use one of four sites: Naviance, Overgrad, Parchment, and Scoir. Find out which site your kid’s high school uses and spend some time familiarizing yourself with it. Some of these sites also offer students opportunities to research colleges, estimate their chances of getting admitted, compare themselves to other applicants, calculate the costs, and add additional information about themselves such as uploading their resume. Who’s There to Help? You’re not alone in the college application process. Most high schools have guidance and college counselors who are there to guide your kids and you through the process. Counselors typically work together but have distinct responsibilities: the guidance counselor is there to help your kid select the courses that best prepare them for college, while the college counselor helps them use the various college application sites. Contact your student’s high school to get the names of their guidance and college counselors. Tanni Haas, Ph.D. is a professor in the Department of Communication Arts, Sciences & Disorders at the City University of New York – Brooklyn College.
